Joe Perry (musician)
Anthony Joseph "Joe" Perry (born September 10, 1950) is the lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith. He was ranked 48th in the Rolling Stone's list1 - The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. edit] Biography edit] Early life The paternal side of Perry's family are Portuguese, originally from Madeira. His grandfather changed the family's name from Pereira to Perry upon arriving in the United States of America. His maternal side is Italian, more specifically Neapolitan.2 Perry was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and grew up in the small town of Hopedale, Massachusetts. There, his father was an accountant and his mother a high school gym teacher and later an aerobics instructor. She later retired to Arizona when Perry's father died in 1975. Perry also attended the prep school Vermont Academy, a boarding school of about 230 students in Saxtons River, Vermont. edit] Aerosmith Main article: AerosmithDuring Joe Perry's early years he formed a band with Tom Hamilton called The Jam Band. After meeting with Steven Tyler, Joe, Tom, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer eventually joined and the band became Aerosmith. While initially dismissed as Rolling Stones knock-offs, the band came into its own during the mid-1970s with a string of hit records. Chief among these successes were Toys in the Attic (1975) and Rocks (1976), thanks largely to the prevalence of free-form, album-oriented FM radio. The group also managed hit singles on the AM dial with songs like "Dream On", "Same Old Song and Dance", "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way". During this time, Perry and vocalist Steven Tyler became known as the "Toxic Twins" for their notorious hard-partying and drug use. Hard-core drug dealers made a cash grab following Aerosmith around the country knowing there would be a large line of customers.[citation needed] Aerosmith's crowd in these days earned the nickname "The Blue Army", so called by the band after the seemingly endless number of teenagers in the audience wearing blue denim jackets and blue jeans. The audience was abundantly male with extremely long hair. Following Rocks, the group began to stumble - drug use escalated and the creative process became hampered by strained relationships within the band. They managed another hit record in 1977 with Draw the Line, on which Perry sang lead vocals on the track "Bright Light Fright", considered by some[who?] to be one of the album's highlights. A fall of '77 tour was scheduled, but as the crowds got more dangerous, violence followed. A cherry bomb was thrown onstage in Philadelphia at The Spectrum in October 1977, injuring both Perry and Tyler. Summer of 1979 saw the band headline over Van Halen, Ted Nugent, AC/DC and Foreigner during the world music festival concerts. An argument backstage in Cleveland resulted in Joe Perry's wife throwing a glass of milk at Tom Hamilton's wife. This would prove to be the turning point that saw Perry quit Aerosmith, taking a collection of unrecorded material with him, which would later become the basis of his Let the Music Do the Talking album. edit] The Joe Perry Project By the end of 1979, Perry had formed his own band - The Joe Perry Project. Their debut record, Let the Music Do the Talking, reached #47 on the Billboard album charts, selling 250,000 copies domestically. While sales and reviews were respectable the group mainly thrived as a live act. It managed to do so even after its second album, I've Got the Rock'n'Rolls Again, went largely ignored. In the end, the Project never solidified a lineup; all three studio releases would feature a different lead vocalist and the entire roster was replaced before their final effort (1983's Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker.) Even a brief stint with a fellow Aerosmith exile, rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford, failed to ignite things again and the group found themselves with minimal[clarification needed] label support by 1984. A compilation album, The Music Still Does the Talking: The Best of the Joe Perry Project, was released by an Australian Indie Record label in 1999. edit] Return to the spotlight Equipped with a new record label (MCA Records) and three new band members in singer Mach Bell, bassist Danny Hargrove and drummer Joe Pet, The Joe Perry Project released Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker in 1983. The album met the same fate as its predecessor, selling 40,000 copies. Despite the poor sales, The Project went out on a final tour in support of the album, adding then ex-Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford to the line-up. During this tour, The Project performed in a series of co-bills with Huey Lewis and the News. The following year, both Perry and Whitford rejoined Aerosmith. In 1986, Perry and Tyler collaborated with Run-D.M.C. in a remake of their 1975 hit "Walk This Way", which brought their band renewed mainstream attention. After completing drug rehabilitation, Aerosmith went on to collaborate with various big-name songwriters and producers to launch their true comeback. Another string of successful albums (including the triple-platinum Pump in 1989 and 1993's 7× platinum Get a Grip) and many hit singles followed. Perry and Tyler resumed their tight friendship, again co-writing songs and performing very close together on stage. In 1998, Perry helped conceive the group's first number one single, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", with pop songwriter Diane Warren. It appeared on the soundtrack to the hit film Armageddon, in which Tyler's daughter, Liv, starred. From 2001 to present, Aerosmith has been heavily active in the music scene, and has toured every year. In 2006, Perry performed alongside Steven Tyler for a three-song medley ("Dream On", "Walk This Way", "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing") with the Boston Pops Orchestra as part of a nationally-televised event to celebrate the Fourth of July in Boston, Massachusetts. edit] Solo album Perry released his first solo record, the self-titled ''Joe Perry'', in May 2005. It was recorded at his home studio (The Boneyard) in suburban Boston, with every instrument but the drums played by Perry himself. Critics also responded favorably; Rolling Stone magazine crowned it with three-and-a-half (out of five) stars, declaring "A Joe Perry solo joint? about time!" He was also nominated for "Best Rock Instrumental" at the 2006 Grammys for the track "Mercy" but lost to Les Paul. edit] Return of the Joe Perry Project In 2009, while on tour with Aerosmith, Joe Perry announced that he would be releasing a new Joe Perry Project album entitled Have Guitar, Will Travel, which was released on October 6, 2009. The first single from the album was "We've Got a Long Way to Go."3 This marks the first Joe Perry Project album since 1983's Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker, and the fifth Joe Perry solo album in total, counting the 2005 self-titled album. edit] Family life Perry was married to Elyssa Jerret from 1975 to 1982, a union that gave him a son, Adrian. Perry is now married to Billie Paulette Montgomery Perry; they have four children between the two of them, including two together, Tony and Roman; she also has a son from a previous relationship, Aaron. They married in 1985 after meeting on the set of his "Black Velvet Pants" video in 1983. Billie appears on one of Joe's guitars, which is dubbed "The Billie Perry Guitar". Sons Adrian and Tony Perry are founding members of the rock band TAB the Band.4 Perry's first grandchild, Austin, was fathered by his stepson Aaron, who is also the CEO for the Joe Perry's Rock Your World hot sauce brand. Currently Perry lives on Sleepy Hollow Farm in South Pomfret, Vermont where he raises prized Friesian horses. edit] Equipment The main guitar associated with Joe Perry is the Gibson Les Paul. He has used many different types of Les Pauls since the 70s, including Les Paul Juniors, Les Paul Standards, and Les Paul Customs. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Gibson issued a Joe Perry signature Les Paul guitar; this guitar was customized with an active mid-boost control, black chrome hardware, and a translucent black finish. However, in 2004, this model was replaced by another Joe Perry signature Les Paul, the Joe Perry Boneyard Les Paul. This guitar is characterized by Perry's custom "Boneyard" logo on the headstock and a figured maple top with a green tiger finish, and is available with either a stopbar tailpiece or a Bigsby tailpiece; Perry typically uses a Bigsby-equipped Boneyard model in Aerosmith and solo live shows. The Gibson Joe Perry was a present from his wife Billie and then he was allowed to manufacture it. Perry has also endorsed an affordable replica version of the Boneyard guitar made by Epiphone that carries the same USA made Burstbucker pickups as the Gibson model. Perry also uses other Gibson models. Another model he uses frequently is a customized Gibson B.B. King "Lucille" guitar; however, instead of the black finish and "Lucille" signature on the headstock, Perry's guitar features a white finish, a "Billie Perry" signature on headstock and an image of Billie Perry on the front of the guitar. He has also used Gibson SGs, Firebirds, ES-175s, ES-335s, and ES-350s at various points in his career. Perry has been known to play guitars of other luthiers and manufacturers. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Perry frequently used various Fender Stratocasters; many of these guitars were left-handed Strats turned upside-down and appropriately restrung. One of these "upside-down" models is still played occasionally by Perry onstage, usually for "Sweet Emotion". Perry also uses Fender Telecasters, some modified with neck humbuckers. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Perry (along with fellow Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford) endorsed B.C. Rich guitars, and frequently used the Mockingbird (such as in the performance of "Come Together" in the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) and 10-string B.C. Rich models. He has also been photographed playing what looks like, judging by the headstock logo, a custom built Spector guitar, and some ESP guitars during the 80s. The six-string bass guitar is a trademark of Perry's guitar sound; instead of playing it like an ordinary bass guitar, he uses it like a regular guitar, playing riffs, chords, and solos. The six-string bass helped to create the characteristic growl of Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle", "Combination", and "Draw the Line". In the past, Perry used Fender Bass VI and Danelectro six-string basses; he also used a Gibson EB-6 for the bass solo on "King of the Kings" on the Joe Perry Project's Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker album (as indicated by the album's liner notes). Perry currently uses an Ernie Ball MusicMan six-string bass onstage. For amps, Perry uses a collection of various alternating vintage amps on stage, including 200 watt Marshall Major amps, Fender Silverface Dual Showman amps, a Fender Tweed Bassman and many more. In the studio he uses various vintage low wattage tube amps including a Fender Tweed Champ and an Epiphone Pacemaker Model EA50T manufactured in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the early 60s. For slide work, Perry typically uses a Dan Armstrong Lucite guitar, such as for "Draw the Line". Joe has also been known to use a Pro Co RAT Distortion Pedal, a Klon Centaur overdrive, a talkbox, a Crybaby wah and a Digitech Whammy pedal. Perry currently has a collection of over 600 guitars.5 edit] Solo Discography *''Let the Music Do the Talking'' (1980) *''I've Got the Rock'n'Rolls Again'' (1981) *''Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker'' (1983) *''Joe Perry'' (2005) *''Have Guitar, Will Travel'' (2009) edit] Chef Perry Joe Perry has spearheaded the creation of an entire line of hot sauces entitled Joe Perry's Rock Your World Hot Sauces, which are featured widely in the marketplace. A quesadilla featuring a flavor of the namesake hot sauce is available as an appetizer at Hard Rock Cafe. Additionally, Perry was featured in a television episode of Inside Dish with Rachael Ray on a recent stop on Aerosmith's tour, in which he prepared a meal, displayed his passion for knives, discussed his hot sauce brand and cooking, and gave insight into what goes into meal preparation on Aerosmith tours. Until recently, Perry, along with Aerosmith band member Steven Tyler and other partners, co-owned Mount Blue, a restaurant in Norwell, Massachusetts. edit] Influences *He is a huge fan of early Fleetwood Mac, particularly their first lead guitarist, Peter Green, which explains the occasional inclusion of the FM classics "Stop Messin' Round" and "Rattlesnake Shake" in Aerosmith's sets. Steven Tyler has even mentioned that hearing Perry play "Rattlesnake Shake" brought them together. *He is also a huge fan of guitarist Jeff Beck and looked at him as one of his influences. Beck played onstage with Aerosmith in 1976, as a 'birthday present' for Perry.[citation needed] *Perry was also strongly influenced by Jimi Hendrix as evidenced in particular by some of the playing on the Joe Perry Project track song "The Mist Is Rising", and his covering the Hendrix classic "Red House" both with the Project and later with Aerosmith. *He was a huge influence on Slash, who after hearing Rocks decided to take up the guitar rather than race BMX. Slash owned Perry's old '59 Les Paul, but later returned it as a birthday present. *In an interview Hyde stated that when he decided that singing was more his strength, Perry became an influence for some of his stage personality. edit] Guest appearances *Played on Gene Simmons's 1978 self titled solo album. *Played on two tracks of the 1978 debut solo album by David Johansen. *Perry was the first non-Kiss members to guest on stage with the masked band, as he wore a pair of Paul Stanley's boots and jammed in the song "Strutter" December 13, 2003, in Oklahoma City. This was one of the stops on an Aerosmith/Kiss tour. *Perry played on the guitar super-ensemble CD Merry Axemas Volume 1 with his own track "Blue Christmas". The album also features Rush's Alex Lifeson, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Jeff Beck and others. *He played the guitar solo in Eminem's "Sing for the Moment", Joe Perry liked the use of sample and said once "It's great. The song lives again in another form." *He also appeared in the Nelly video "#1" *He performed a duet of "You Really Got Me" with Sanjaya Malakar on American Idol 6.6 *He played with Tom Jones and later in a duet of Tom Jones and Joss Stone in the Concert for Diana on July 1, 2007. *He was part of an all-star lineup--including Little Richard and Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen-- that recorded the 2006 version of the Monday Night Football theme song with Hank Williams, Jr. edit] Miscellaneous *He is left-handed, but plays the guitar right-handed.7 *He sings lead vocals on the Aerosmith songs "Bright Light Fright" (Draw the Line - 1977), "Walk On Down" (Get a Grip - 1993), "Falling Off" (Nine Lives - 1997) "Drop Dead Gorgeous" (Just Push Play - 2001), "Stop Messin' Around" and "Back Back Train"(Honkin' on Bobo - 2004) and a lead duet with Steven Tyler on "Combination" (Rocks - 1976) *Steven Tyler often drops Joe Perry's name in song lyrics. On record, this includes the songs "Shame on You" (1985) "Reefer Head woman" (1979) and "F.I.N.E.*" (1989), as well as a live version of "Movin' Out" (from 1987's Classics Live II). In concert, noted examples include "'Perry' was all over the floor" in the song "Draw the Line and in "Hangman Jury", "If I could I surely would, stand on the rock 'Joe Perry' done stood." *Perry endorsed John McCain for the 2008 Presidential election, and described himself as a "lifelong Republican".8 *Perry performed the main theme to the ''Spider-Man'' animated series. *Perry was also a judge for the 5th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.9 *Played a detective in the episode "Brotherly Love" of Homicide: Life on the Street. He was credited as "Anthony Joseph Perry." 10